SOCPM Newsletter | April 3, 2021

Greetings,

The copy desk phone has been mostly silent this week. So, I'll get right to this week's Weekly Note.

This week's Weekly Note was on Psalm 3:5-6;

5 I lay down and slept;
 I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
  who have set themselves against me all around.[1]

Sleep is something we all do, We have good nights of sleep, and we have restless nights of sleep. There are times when I lie down to go to sleep; it seems like an insurmountable task. Like David, I can have various circumstances that could have cause to bring me anxiety. But unlike David, I'm not always able to; as Charles Spurgeon writes, 'David's faith enabled him to lie down. Anxiety would've kept him on tiptoe, watching for an enemy, but he could sleep, sleep in the midst of trouble, surrounded by foes.' [2]

I confess I'm a worrier. Many of my worries focus on what I could do to lessen the potential negative consequences of what is causing me to worry. I liked what James Montgomery Boice writes in his commentary of David, 'It is a beautiful picture of one so trusting of God that he is able to sleep soundly even while the treacherous seek his life.' [3] I desire to have that 'beautiful picture of trusting God.' Boice goes on to write, 'The psalmist went to sleep trusting God. Now he has awakened with the events of the day (as was the case with the events of the previous night) firmly in God's hands. He is saying, "I had a good night's rest, and now I am not afraid to face the terrors of this new day. I will not fear the thousands drawn up against me." '[4]. 

Another struggle for me is wrongly relying on myself alone to overcome my worries. This week's Weekly Note reminded me of what Willem A. VanGermen writes, 'Too often plans come before prayers. How many blessings we missed by conceiving in our own schemes only to see God frustrate them later and work out his own plan! [5] 

William S. Plumer's advice 'Prayer is a good preparation for sleep.' [6] is something my wife Michelle and I do nightly. But there are times when prayer is not enough. My anxious thoughts still flood my mind. A practice I've taken up to overwrite those brain cells of anxious thoughts is connecting my headphones via Bluetooth to my iPad and listen to  David Suchet's (aka Agatha Christie's Det. Hercule Poirot) reading of the Psalms (I've included the links below). My listening to the Psalms fills my thoughts with the good words of God's Word.

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. Proverbs12:25 (ESV) [7]

On personal notes, Praise God! My surgeon's PA called this week to check up on my recovery, which is going well and shared 128 grams of the tissue removed came back negative for cancer. 

As for Cameron, in our last conversation, he still has not one into detox or sober-living. He said he has to move by April 2nd, but his sponsor will put the furnishings he wants to keep in storage. He plans to give his couch and dresser to a person he knows is in need—reflections of his care for others. In our last call, Cameron was full of hate, anger, and bitterness. I tried to share with him that he needs to give God all those emotions and ask God to replace them with forgiveness to those who have hideously sinned against him. I told him I believe his holding on to the negative emotions is one of the biggest obstacles to his getting victory over his addictions. I'm not sure how deeply rooted that advice was received, but when we ended our phone call, he did ask God to help him forgive the person who sinned against him some 27 years ago.

He still awaits back pay for unemployment and his tax return and stimulus check; Cameron did meet with Grady, his former youth pastor. He said he enjoyed the visit. Please continue praying for Cameron's salvation, sobriety, other issues, and his turning to God to change his angry, bitter, and hateful heart to a heart of forgiveness. 

To Him be the glory in ALL things and to Him alone!

Scott Kalas
Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries

Week 55 of the lockdown 😞.  

COVID-19 cases as of 04/02/21, Dixon: staff confirmed 281, staff recovered staff 274, staff current 7, staff tests 9,546; offender confirmed 585, offenders recovered 581, offender current 4, offenders test 36.945 | Sheridan: staff confirmed 146, staff recovered 145; staff current 1, staff tests 8.399; offenders confirmed 463, offenders recovered 462, offenders current 1, offender tests 22,321 | IDOC: staff confirmed 4,316 , staff recovered 4,232, staff current 85, staff tests 166,664; offenders confirmed 10,849, offenders recovered 10,799, offenders current 50, offender tests 476,115. [8]

Please continue in prayer for the lifting of the lockdown. If only for the resumption of visitations, and the return of volunteers shortly after that.

Who Cares?

A weekly sharing of information that most people could care less about but for those who do!

April 3rd - 9th Holidays
April 5th Read a Road Map Day - Metsker Maps of Seattle - Great place to buy just about any type of map.
April 7th National Walking Day - I saved it to my calendar 😱
April 8th National Empanada Day - I'll take one or two, maybe three with buffalo chicken 😋
April 9th National Name Yourself Day - I've always been partial too - 🤥

This Coming Week
International Dark Sky Week - April 5th - 12th - For you fellow gazers of the skies 🔭

This Week in History

April 3rd 1860 - Pony Express Debuts -  No jokes like the Pony Express was faster than today's mail. 🤫
April 9th 1881 - Billy the Kid convicted of murder - For fans of history and the wild, wild west. 🤠
April 8th 1974 - Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's Home run record. Great feat, by great baseball playe 🥳

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